Sex-based differences in clinical features, management, and 28-day and 7-year prognosis of first acute myocardial infarction. RESCATE II study

Introduction and objectives: To analyze sex-based differences in clinical characteristics, management, and 28-day and 7-year prognosis after a first myocardial infarction.

Methods: Between 2001 and 2003, 2042 first myocardial infarction patients were consecutively registered in 6 Spanish hospitals. Clinical characteristics, management, and 28-day case-fatality were prospectively recorded. Seven-year vital status was also ascertained by data linkage with the National Mortality Index.

Results: The registry included 449 women and 1593 men with a first myocardial infarction. Compared with men, women were older, had a higher prevalence of hypertension and diabetes, and were more likely to receive angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors but were less likely to receive beta-blockers or thrombolysis. No differences were observed in use of invasive procedures. More women had non-ST-segment elevation and unclassified myocardial infarction than men (37.9% vs 31.3% and 9.8% vs 6.1%, respectively; both P<.001). Case-fatality at 28 days was similar in women and men (5.57% vs 4.46%; P=.39). After multivariate adjustment, the odds ratio of 28-day mortality for men was 1.06 (95% confidence interval: 0.49-2.27; P=.883) compared with women. After multivariate adjustment, men had higher 7-year mortality than women, hazard ratio 1.93 (95% confidence interval: 1.46-2.56; P<.001).

Conclusions: There are demographic and clinical differences between men and women with a first myocardial infarction. The short-term prognosis of a first myocardial infarction in this century is similar in both sexes. However, the long-term vital prognosis after a first myocardial infarction is worse in men than in women. These results are observed in both ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction and non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction events.